Police are looking for thieves who stole around a hundred racing pigeons worth hundreds of thousands of euros from their cages in the Frisian village of Steggerda.

The theft, which happened on Sunday night, has been a blow to the Homma brothers, who have been breeding pigeons since 2006.

‘It is not an easy thing to take in, we are devastated,’ they told NU.nl. The brothers have called for people who may have seen something or have surveillance footage that may lead to the perpetrators to contact police.

The brothers kept their pigeons for sport and breeding and the birds can fetch astronomical prizes on the international market.

In 2012 a racing pigeon was sold to a Chinese shipping magnate for €250,400. Frisian owner and pigeon racer Pieter Veenstra sold 245 pigeons in two weeks for a total sum of €1.9m.